“Our Troops Are in General Almost Naked”: The Delaware and New York Infantry at the Valley Forge Encampment, 1777-1778

Description

This book honors the Delaware and New York contingents of the American infantry that served at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Mr. Boyle’s informative introduction traces the service of the regiments before and after they joined General Washington in November 1777. The Delaware units, for example, served with distinction at the Battle of Long Island and other engagements in General Washington’s efforts to hold New York; after Valley Forge, the Delawares served primarily in the southern theater of the war, including at Guilford Court House, Hobkirk’s Hill, and Ninety Six. For their part, the New York regiments took part in the defense of Hudson River prior to wintering at Valley Forge, as well as in the triumphant victory at Yorktown in 1781.

The core of the book consists of an alphabetical list in excess of 2,000 Delaware and New York soldiers abstracted from Revolutionary War muster and payrolls. Each patriot is identified by name, rank, date, and term of enlistment or commission, names of regiment and company, and a variety of supporting details, such as date of furlough or discharge, when wounded, when and where promoted, etc. In support of the abstracts, the author has prepared a detailed glossary of terms found in the rosters, an explanatory list of locations referred to in the entries, and a lengthy, up-to-date bibliography.